Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences/ Ysgol Graddedigion Gwyddorau Cymdeithasol Cymru

The Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS) will train the next generation of doctoral researchers across Wales, funded by the ESRC. This matters because the UK faces a shortage of highly skilled social scientists who can tackle complex, real-world problems—from economic inequality to public health crises. Currently, doctoral training in the social sciences is often fragmented across individual universities, limiting opportunities for students to access specialist expertise, interdisciplinary collaboration, or placements outside academia. The WGSSS addresses this gap by creating a formal consortium of Welsh universities, pooling resources and supervisory capacity. If successful, the partnership will produce a steady pipeline of PhD graduates equipped with both deep disciplinary knowledge and practical skills. These researchers will go on to work in universities, government, charities, and businesses, where their work can directly inform policy on housing, education, migration, or community regeneration. For the public, this means decisions about schools, hospitals, and local services could be grounded in stronger evidence. The project is primarily a training infrastructure investment, not a single experiment, but its impact will be felt over decades as cohorts of skilled researchers enter the workforce.